Demand for mini-ITX chassis on the rise

According to Digitimes, retailersare expecting a surge in demand for mini-ITX chassis this summer, mainly thanks to Intel's new Atom CPU. Although the dual-core version of the CPU is still nowhere to be seen, the market obviously expects consumers will show a lot of interest for the new single-core processor.

Most Atom boards will use the mini-ITX form factor. They're relatively cheap to produce and Intel's Celeron-based Essential series boards sell for under €50. Atom boards are expected to be similarly priced, with some observers even expecting cheaper products. While this might sound like a tempting offer, there are some things you might want to consider before trying to build your own mini-ITX nettop.

Mini-ITX chassis, on the other hand, are anything but cheap. The cheapest ones in Europe retail at around €80 and they ship with a 60W SFX PSU. Most of them are priced at €100+ and this is by no means a bargain, especially considering the low price of mini-ITX boards and regular ATX chassis, for that matter.

Increased demand for mini-ITX products should eventually push prices down, but this will take some time. Hopefully, rising demand will be met by chassis makers trying to cash in on the new trend with some cheaper models, as €100+ for a mini-ITX case is just way too much.